Fight Against Polio: Rotary International honours Emeka Offor

As part of its centennial celebrations, the Rotary Foundation has recognized Sir Emeka Offor as one of nine individuals who make Rotary a force for good in the world.

Sir Emeka Offor

This is a significant piece of good news for the Nigerian philanthropist and oil magnate who is currently experiencing a rather rough patch following the loss of his father and the sustained slide in oil prices.

Recognition from the Rotary Foundation is particularly remarkable because Sir Emeka Offor is the only African to make the distinguished list for his significant contribution to Rotary’s successful effort to combat polio in Nigeria.

Through his generosity, the Rotary Foundation’s PolioPlus Initiative has helped to protect 2.5 billion children around the world from the devastating impacts of polio.

As the Rotary International Polio Ambassador to Nigeria, he has championed collective efforts to eliminate polio through sustained advocacy with political, traditional and religious leaders. His quiet, diplomatic efforts helped persuade communities in Northern Nigeria to embrace polio vaccination after initially rejecting the idea. This resulted in a rapid decline in new cases.

Sir Emeka’s philanthropy is not limited to the fight against polio.

Through the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF), he provided a total of $3.6m in donations, grants and endowments to numerous initiatives to improve health, public education and community empowerment between 2014 and 2015.

SEOF has also been at the forefront of the fight against glaucoma, river blindness and infant and maternal mortality.

Sir Emeka Offor said his contributions to Rotary are consistent with his belief that “we have been called to serve others and to give our time and resources in order to alleviate human suffering”.